Lindblad Expeditions’ National Geographic Sea Bird suffered its third CDC reported gastrointestinal (GI) illness outbreak since May 2026, this time sickening at least 29% of passengers.
Six of the Last Ten Voyages Likely Had Norovirus Cases
The first CDC reported outbreak occurred on the ship’s May 26–May 31 voyage, when 9 of 66 passengers and 3 of 24 crew members got sick with norovirus. Following this outbreak, the CDC stated it “conducted a field response” to control the outbreak on the ship’s subsequent voyages on May 31, 2026–June 5 and June 5, 2026–June 10.
The second CDC reported outbreak occurred on the ship’s June 25–June 30 voyage, when 19 of 68 passengers and 2 of 27 crew members got sick with norovirus.
Earlier in July, a passenger aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird reached out to us stating she and three others in her group got sick with norovirus on the ship’s June 30–July 5 voyage. The passenger told CruiseLawNews that the “healthy people get off first” and that a group of around 20 disembarked second but “not all were sick.” The woman also stated that some crew members were sick.
The most recent CDC reported outbreak occurred on the ship’s July 10–July 15 voyage, sickening 18 of 62 passengers and no crew members. The causative agent of the outbreak is currently listed as unknown but it is likely norovirus given the earlier outbreaks.
This means the National Geographic Sea Bird has likely had norovirus cases on six of the ship’s last ten voyages including three of the last four.
CDC Reporting Requirements
The CDC publicly reports GI illness outbreaks when 3% or more of a ship’s passengers or crew members report having GI illness symptoms to the ship’s medical staff and the ship is within three days of returning to a U.S. port.
On a typical cruise ship 3% of passengers or crew can mean dozens to hundreds of people but the National Geographic Sea Bird is a tiny cruise ship. As few as 3 passengers and 1 crew member could trigger a reporting requirement.
The CDC understandably may not report an outbreak when only a handful of people have GI illness symptoms. However, not reporting the smaller outbreaks minimizes the reality that norovirus has plagued the National Geographic Sea Bird for months. Furthermore, the small number of passengers getting sick on each voyage downplays the risk of getting the virus. Would you go on a cruise knowing that 29% of passengers on the last voyage got a GI illness?
No-Sail Recommendation
The CDC can recommend a cruise ship not to sail if there are imminent public health risks which include the inability of a ship to control a disease outbreak. Lindblad Expeditions and the crew aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird have clearly failed to control the norovirus outbreak since May.
The CDC needs to step in and stop the ship from sailing until it can confirm that the ship has been properly disinfected, all sick crew members have been quarantined, and the crew members have been trained on cleaning and disinfection procedures. The risk of passengers and crew getting norovirus is too high for the National Geographic Sea Bird to continue sailing. The CDC must also factor in the risk of norovirus spreading in the Alaskan ports the ship stops in.
The last time the CDC issued a no-sail recommendation was in 2011 when the Celebrity Mercury had GI illness outbreaks on three consecutive voyages. An average of 16% of passengers reportedly got sick during these three voyages. The average percentage of passengers sick from the National Geographic Sea Bird outbreaks has been considerably higher.
It’s time for the CDC to issue a no-sail recommendation.
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